Democritus

Democritus
Roman bust of a philosopher, possibly Democritus. Villa of the Papyri.
Born	c. 460 BC Abdera, Thrace
Died	c. 370 BC
Era	Pre-Socratic philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Atomism
Main interests	Nature
Notable ideas	Atoms and the void as the fundamental constituents of the physical world[a]

Democritus (/dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs/, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe.^[1]

None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy.^[2] He was known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of cheerfulness.^[3]

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